Birthdays are confusing. A celebration for growing older, which is just another step closer to death. But, people seemed to be happy about it or maybe they were just excited about the gifts and cake. He doesn’t know since he’s never celebrated it or anyone’s birthday since his parents wren’t the type to even glance at anything that was like a holiday. But he wanted to celebrate Karina’s special day since she was definitely the sort of person who cherished it.
Being in New Zealand on a deserted island didn’t make things easy. There wouldn’t be any cake since he can’t bake. But there was going to be a makeshift ice cream sundae which he’s made after ransacking the kitchen fridge. There’s no balloons or streamers or party hats but he’s cast a spell on the lights so that they flicker like disco lights. He’s also managed to find a teddy bear someone’s left it behind and charm it so that it plays an instrumental rendition of Happy Birthday.
It’s the closest he can get and when he reveals it to Karina after hiding her eyes with his hand during the walk, he can only hope she’s satisfied. “Do you like it?” Preston asks the girl beside him, eager to be acknowledged for his efforts. He had tried really hard and would definitely be disappointed if she didn’t like it.
“But that’s not all,” the excitement shows on his big grin, “I got you a present to.”
There had been some trouble but he had managed to carry it with him since London, having known earlier on that her birthday was coming up. Grabbing the creature from his jacket pocket he pulls it out to let it leap towards her. “A pygmy puff! You said they were cute when we went to the store last time so I got one for you.”
*＊✿❀ —————————————————————————————————– ❀✿＊*
She didn’t think that she would be spending her birthday in another land like this, having always spent it in the company of friends and family for as long as she could remember, she felt weird to now not being able to do anything for this day. To her, it was never about the gifts, it was the time she spent with her loved ones that she cherished the most, the laughter, the cheers, those were the things she wished for. It felt empty in a sense to think about the fact that they wouldn’t be there to celebrate with her this year.
She didn’t expect anyone to remember that it was her birthday today, especially not Preston, so when he had asked her to go on a walk with him, she didn’t suspect a thing. Only when he placed his hand over her eyes did she begin to suspect something, “Preston- where are we going?” She questions, even though she knew that her brooding friend would never tell her.
The closer they got to the place, she could begin to hear the faint birthday song playing from the bear, a tiny smile growing on her face as her heart soared at the thought of all the effort that he must’ve put in for something like it. She couldn’t help feeling touched when he finally reveals to her all the things he had set up, a tiny elated giggle flowing from her lips as her present comes bounding over to her, tears beginning to prickle in her eyes as she turned her attention back to him again.
Without much thought, she wraps her arms around him tightly, pulling him towards her for a hug, a bright smile lighting up her face as she squeezes him tightly. She knows that he didn’t like physical contact and she was probably stepping over so many lines by doing this, but at the moment she didn’t care about that.
“I love it, I love it so much,” she responds, “thank you so much, Preston, this is the best birthday surprise ever.”
Letting him go finally, she pulls away and holds the little pygmy puff in her palms, fingers gently caressing it’s soft fur, “And thank you so much for this present as well, I think I’m going to name this little guy… Pretzel.”
*＊✿❀ —————————————————————————————————– ❀✿＊*
